User manual ROLAND AN INTRODUCTION TO HARD DISK RECORDING

[. . . ] ZERO REW FF STOP PLAY REC Hard Disk Recorder The cover illustration shows a Roland VS-880EX Digital Studio Workstation with the optional Roland VS-CDR CD Recorder, two Roland MA-12 powered monitors, and the VS-880EX TurboStart Video. © 1998 Roland Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of ROLAND CORPORATION. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. An Introduction to Hard Disk Recording Just as word processors have revolutionized the writing process, digital hard disk recorders (HDRs) are giving musicians unprecedented creative freedom in the production of their music. Imagine being able to. . . . . . record as many tracks of a guitar solo as you want without having to erase one take. . . . listen to your song in many different arrangements and choose the one that you or your producer likes best. [. . . ] These Virtual Tracks or layers are just different storage locations for your recordings. You can keep many takes of a guitar solo on the same track using virtual tracks. 15 Virtual Tracks How can you use Virtual Tracks to help you make music?Recording a guitar solo: On different Virtual Tracks of one track, you can record several solos. You keep your creativity flowing, then later decide which solo (or parts of solos) you want to use. Recording background vocals: Record several tracks of background vocals. You can now re-use these tracks for other instruments and still re-mix the original vocal parts later if you need to. Recording a dry guitar and a processed guitar at the same time: Record a guitar with all of your effect pedals. At the same time, record the guitar without effects on a different track. Keep the "dry" guitar on a different virtual track in case you later decide to try a different effect on the guitar. Virtual Tracks can make your music sound better. "Best of" version copied from other virtual tracks 16 Digital Effects Some HDRs have built-in digital effects. These effects allow you to process your sound without leaving the digital domain. Some even have effects such as Roland's COSM guitar preamp and microphone modeling. Just plug in a guitar or mic and choose from a selection of amp and microphone sounds at any point during recording, editing, or mixing. Remember, you lose quality every time you move in and out of the digital domain. Also, if your HDR doesn't have internal effects, you will need to buy additional effects processors. Advantages of internal digital effects: · Maintain the highest sound quality by keeping everything in the digital domain · Customize different effects types and levels for every track · Experiment with different effects without changing or losing your original recordings · Keep the dry, uneffected track for use at any time · Automation · No cables to worry about You can have a truly portable studio, with on-board processing to make a vocal or guitar part sound great, without having to lug around extra gear. Virtual Tracks Virtual Tracks Track 1 Dry Vocal Vocal > Comp/De-esser/Para EQ/Rev:Lg Hall Voice > Comp/Para EQ/Rev:Sm Hall Voice > Para EQ etc. Track 2 (etc. ) Dry Guitar Guitar > COSM Preamp Guitar > Gtr Multi-Effect etc. 1 2 3 4 etc. 1 2 3 4 etc. This diagram shows how Virtual Tracks and internal digital effects work together to get the most out of your music! Keeping your whole song digital can make it sound much better. 17 Digital Mixing There are many advantages to HDRs with built-in digital mixers. You don't lose fidelity when bouncing or mixing tracks · Digital mixers with automation, snap shots, and scenes give you more control over your mix · Dedicated digital faders and knobs make mixing faster and easier · Built-in digital mixers adds portability to your HDR system If your HDR does not contain a mixer, you'll need to purchase a console specifically designed for recording. An integrated HDR and digital mixer often allows you to: · Compare different mixer settings instantly (level, pan, etc. ) · Restore all effect and mixer settings when you re-load a song!· Craft intricate mixes · Recall the levels and effects for bounced tracks to re-mix them · Even automate your mix Internal digital mixing allows you to make make an audio CD directly from some Hard Disk Recorders!EZ Routing Some HDRs with integrated digital mixers include onboard assistance with the process of Recording, Bouncing & Mixing. The HDR makes mixer and routing settings automatically after you answer simple on-screen questions. ZERO REW FF STOP PLAY REC Save time by storing your custom mixer and effect settings with each song. 18 What About MIDI? Many people use MIDI to record keyboards or drum machines. [. . . ] A representation of real time in Hours: Minutes: Seconds: Frames: Subframes communicated via MIDI and used for synchronizing audio or MIDI recording devices. Usually combined with analog mixers, they can only play back up to 4 tracks. 26 Glossary Non destructive editing: Editing that doesn't change, erase or delete the original material, just changes a playlist of play and stop pointers. Pitch Correction: A digital algorithm that changes the pitch of a phrase of audio without changing its length. Pointer Based Editing: Feature of HDRs that make them non destructive and capable of many levels of undo. [. . . ]